


A Hell of A Trip

by ghosty_goo



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Fantasy, Gen, Horror, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25386028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghosty_goo/pseuds/ghosty_goo
Summary: Three high school boys go on a camping trip over spring break. It turns out to be much worse than they could have ever guessed.





	A Hell of A Trip

It was the first day of spring break. Something that was in no way new to the three boys. They’d all experienced it school year after school year. But spring break in high school is just different. This spring break, however, would be much more different than they ever wanted.

The story begins with three boys walking out of school. The gang was one that nobody expected to be together. A haughty rich kid, given the name of Marlow, a happy-go-lucky weirdo, who called himself Tansy, and an intelligent, smack-talking introvert, titled ‘Flea’ by his classmates. 

Little had the rest of the school known, these three had known each other since, well, forever! They all went on adventures every chance they got, and have so many good memories, they could pass three out to everyone at school and still have some left. Not really, but you get where we’re going here.

While this rambling happened, Tansy led the other two towards a forest that hadn’t been visited in years. The three planned a short camping trip there, so they wanted to scope it out for bears and other bad stuff. Like bears. Flea tightened his grip on his backpack strap as the group drew closer.

“I’m just saying, guys, bringing two weeks worth of food is safer.” he spoke in a higher pitch than the other two. This was due to the fact that he was trans, and had only started hormones three weeks ago. Something he was grateful of.

“Who cares about being safe? We should scavenge for our own food! Y’know, hunting animals and stuff.” Tansy turned around as he spoke, walking backwards. He had a bit of an accent, one that sounded mostly Spanish. It was hard to pick up on, though.

Marlow just watched the other two converse, smiling ever so slightly. Despite being an extrovert, he never did much talking. But when he did, he could carry a conversation for hours. 

Tansy and Flea continued to debate with each other over how much food they should bring. Eventually, Tansy bumped into a tree, almost losing his balance. He turned around and gazed up at the skyscraper-esque pine trees. His face lit up with excitement.

“We’re here!” he exclaimed, turning to face the others.

“I can see that.” Marlow said, getting a laugh out of Flea. 

Tansy rolled his eyes before looking around. He spotted a long stick and went for it. He came back and held it high, above his head “And so, our adventure begins!”

Flea and Marlow stared in confusion.

“Now?” Flea asked, pointing to the ground “But… we don’t even have all our stuff.”

“That’s what you think!” 

The two boys were even more confused.

Tansy sighed and threw his head back, closing his eyes. He opened them and stared at the two, unamused.

“Just follow me.” He breathed out, turning and walking into the woods. He used his stick as a sort of walking cane, despite not needing one.

The other two followed suit, talking with each other about plans. Tansy would chime into the conversation at times, sharing his opinions. They continued their chatter up until they reached a mock-campsite. 

Tents were pitched, each with a backpack by the entrance, two chairs sat on their own, and a circle of rocks was in the center. Inside the circle was a small pile of sticks, and a flint and steel. 

Marlow and Flea stared, impressed. Tansy stood proudly in front of his work, hands on his hips.

“Hold your applause. I know it’s impressive. You can thank my mom for that.” Tansy said, smiling.

Marlow breathed out a laugh “I suppose it is impressive. You did this on your own?” He turned his gaze to the blond as he asked his question.

“Obviously! If I didn’t, my parents would’ve told you! All I told them was that I was taking all our stuff out to the woods so we could set up early.”

“I see. Well, good job.” Marlow responded, offering a thumbs up.

Tansy turned to Flea— at least, he thought he did. He made a quick 360 and saw Flea walking around the area that surrounded the camp. He was holding a book and eventually crouched by a berry bush, studying them closely. Tansy walked up to him and looked at the berries, then down at Flea.

“Are they safe?” Tansy asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Flea just kept reading in silence before slowly nodding. “Yeah… these are safe. Some of them aren’t ripe yet, so they can last us a few days if we run out of food.” he said before closing his book and standing. He turned to face Tansy, a slightly stern look on his face.

“Which I think we will, considering how we started our trip three days early.” His tone was a bit harsh, but not upset. 

Tansy laughed nervously before looking back at the berries. He picked the ripest looking one and popped it into his mouth. He almost spat it out instantly “It tastes gross!” he said, sticking out his tongue.

Flea sighed “Just be happy it’s not poisonous.” before looking around the surrounding woods. He felt at peace here. He smiled just a little bit. Tansy spotted the smile and lit up with happiness. The one thing that made him happiest was seeing his friends smile.

He tapped Flea’s arm quickly before calling Marlow over. The ginger quickly turned at the mention of his name and came striding over.

“Let’s go on a quick walk!” Tansy exclaimed. Marlow and Flea looked at each other, then at Tansy.

“But… what if we get lost?” Marlow asked, concern showing clearly in his voice.

Tansy stood up straight, pointing to the sky before scurrying over to one of the tents. He unzipped the backpack in front of it and dug around. The other two watched as he scoured each pocket of the bag. Eventually, he triumphantly held up a silver compass. 

Marlow gazed at it, wide eyed. Flea cocked his head to the side like a curious dog. 

Tansy zipped up the bag and hurried over to the duo “It’s a compass my uncle gave me! He said my granddad made it, but I don’t entirely believe that. Anyway, we can use this to find our way!”

Flea moved closer, trying to get a better look “It’s pretty cool looking. I vote we go that way, though.” he looked away and pointed east. Tansy and Marlow moved so they could both see where he was pointing. 

The ‘path’ was decently lit, and looked like a nice walk. It had many bushes, most of which probably had berries. 

Tansy and Marlow both nodded “Yeah! It looks nice!” Tansy said happily

“Alright. Let me go take off my binder first. I’ll be quick.” Flea said as he stepped towards his tent.

Marlow nodded again before turning to Tansy and striking up a short conversation about their favourite bugs.

Soon enough, Flea came out of his tent and smiled. The two turned to him and smiled back. Then, they were off on their walk.

They talked and laughed and pushed each other around. Marlow and Flea both tried some berries and had a similar reaction to that of Tansy’s. The three got into a play fight, in which Marlow was the victor. 

They walked for a few more minutes before they came across a more than large rock. Tansy gazed at it, eyes wide in wonder. He quickly turned to Flea “I dare you to climb it!” 

Flea blinked and quickly shook his head “I can’t climb that thing! There’s nothing to grab or step onto!”

“Of course there is! C’mon, just try it!” 

Flea smiled and sighed “Fine. Can you hold my jacket?” he handed his zip up hoodie over to Marlow. He nodded and held onto it as Flea eyed the boulder.

He carefully reached up, getting hold of a short protrusion. He pulled down on it harshly to make sure it was secure. He checked higher up, making sure he had another bit to grab onto. He did. 

He hoisted himself up, putting all his strength into his arms and legs. He slipped and made contact with the dirt again. He huffed and tried a second time. He strained, his face showing all the work he was putting in. Eventually, he swiped up and got hold of whatever he could grab.

Marlow and Tansy exploded with excitement. They cheered him on as he fought his way up the boulder.

Eventually, after much struggle and many near-misses, he made it to the top. He was sweating and his arms were more than tired, but he made it.

Marlow and Tansy cheered and clapped as Flea heaved air in and out, a look of triumph and relief on his face.

The three stayed like this until Flea said he was getting down. He carefully slid down the more gentle slope of the rock. He landed on his feet with a soft thud. His friends congratulated him and he gave a tired smile in return. 

Marlow looked up at the dimming sky, down at his watch, then at the other two “Hey, it’s getting late. Let’s head back to the campsite.” his tone was motherly, which wasn’t entirely out of character for him.

Flea nodded quickly “Yeah. I’m way too tired to do… anything after that fiasco.” he said, breathing out a laugh.

Tansy nodded before pulling out his compass. He lead the two back to camp. The sun was just above the horizon, which gave the boys enough time to sit back and relax before calling it a night.

They talked as they sat in front or inside their respective tents. They told each other jokes and stories they had yet told. Flea called in a bit early, though, due to his fatigue. He said goodnight and was out in a matter of seconds.

Tansy and Marlow talked a bit more until Tansy nearly fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. Marlow told him to go to sleep, and the two ‘argued’ back and forth until Tansy finally gave in. He said goodnight, closed up his tent and curled up in his sleeping bag.

Marlow sat inside his tent and stared off into the wilderness as it darkened with the setting of the sun. Shadows grew long and ominous, fireflies began to flicker in and out of sight, crickets became louder, everything became calm. Marlow smiled before slowly, and quietly, zipping up his tent. He wiggled into his sleeping bag and slowly fell asleep.


End file.
